Why Bitcoin crashed, and how Ripple might avoid the same fate

I think you misunderstood an essential thing about what Ripple; it’s not really a Bitcoin-alternative as much as a companion. It’s true that on a conceptual level Ripple sound very complicated, but from the user’s perspective it’s a real simple piece of software to use. It feels just like loading in whatever currencies you need through a gateway and then sending them off just like you transfer money between bank accounts today, but as accessible as sending e-mail. Ripple is not all about its own currency XRP (or “ripples”). It’s about IOU:s which are proofs of debt that the gateways issue. (Just like a bank is in debt to you once you deposit cash and get higher numbers on your account.) These can be used as virtual money representing any currency as long as there’s a chain of trust leading to the gateway (which means I trust a friend up to a certain amount who trusts the g...